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Why I Am Not Running The Marathon

I am a running addict. I run eight miles almost every day. I have not skipped one New York City Marathon since 1999. Two years ago, when I did not get in, I signed up with Achilles International and ran the course as a guide with a blind Polish runner. As usual this fall, I’ve logged many 50-mile weeks, rising in the dark at 4:30am on weekdays, squeezing in long runs from my Brooklyn apartment near Prospect Park to Coney Island and back before the kids’s soccer games on weekends. But I’ve just canceled my 2012 New York marathon registration. This Sunday, I am not running the race.

In the end, it was an easy decision to make. I listened to my common sense and it was telling me that putting on the marathon five days after a huge hurricane trashed large parts of the city and the region was not right. There are homes washed into a coastal marsh near the start in Staten Island. There are thousands of people in the city and outside without heat, power, and clean water. As I write, there are long lines of cars for waiting for gas below my balcony. Large parts of the subway system remain crippled. Many of the dead from the storm have not been buried. I consider myself as one of the good guys. I don’t feel that running this race would be the best way to honor those suffering through so much.

I understand that the marathon generates hundreds of millions in revenue for the city. Why not reschedule it for the spring and hold two marathons in one year? The race has been a massive success and the odds for a New Yorker of getting in through the lottery must be close to getting your kid into an Ivy League school. I am sure that both races would sell out and New York Road Runners would end up with a huge amount of good will in the process.

What about the international runners who have already booked their flights and hotels? When an Icelandic volcano grounded planes from Europe two years ago, many top European runners missed out on the Boston Marathon, as prestigious a running event as the New York race. But they took it in stride and came back next year. Runners are a resilient bunch.

Here’s what I am going do this weekend. I will run my personal marathon, full 26.2 miles, tomorrow morning in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park after it reopens for the first time since Sandy badly bruised it. On Marathon Sunday, I’ll put on one of my treasured New York City Marathon shirts and drive to the Far Rockaways or elsewhere where they still need a lot of help. They’ve cheered on the runners in every year past. This year, I’m going to give them a hand.

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A group of registered runners is coordinating to break off from the race and deliver supplies to areas in need. Here’s their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Nyc2012MarathonOfRelief please help spread the word!

I was facing the same moral dilemma and for most of the past week have felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. But on Sunday I will be at the starting line for the 6th time. My motive to move forward is strictly personal, and while you may agree or disagree with it, NYC’s beaurucratic voices have made their statement and this race is happening. What it came down to is simple. Volunteers will be there. Police will be working. And it’s better that you show up to support them supporting you, than for you to protest and have their time and efforts wasted on an absent field.

Oh I am so sorry about you “moral dilemma” people in NEED need the cops, trucks, food and blankets that you will be provided. Hope you think of that when you cross the finish line. so selfish it sickens me…..obviously not a true NY’er

I’m so sorry for you “moral dilemma” but guess what- we don’t want you here! More NY’s would reply but guess what, they don’t have power!! moral dilemma? how about the blankets, food, cops, service, hotels and everything else that is helping YOU to run a race? grab a bag of rice and run it up to the 33rd floor to someone that cant walk down because they are afraid they wont be able to walk back up….selfish

Great article. I am also an avid runner and belong to a family of runners. We are NYRR members and were also scheduled to run the Marathon. We opted against it. Instead we created the following FB page and are mobilizing a peaceful initiative to volunteer and deliver supplies (food, water & clothing) to families in Staten Island. Our meeting point is about 3-4 miles from the start line. Please visit our page: https://www.facebook.com/BoycottThe2012NycMarathon Thank you.